Field hockey travels north to face Northwestern

The IU field hockey team did not envision beginning the Big Ten portion of its 2010 season with two losses.

Meanwhile, Northwestern seeks to go to 2-0 in conference play and bounce back from having a five-game winning streak snapped by Kent State.

The Hoosiers have an opportunity Friday to get on the win column in conference play as they travel to Evanston, Ill. to take on Northwestern.

Two weeks ago, the Wildcats defeated Ohio State, a team IU coach Amy Robertson deemed “the best team in the Big Ten.”

Such a feat is irrelevant to junior forward Corey Brautigam, who cited IU’s upset of No. 8 Louisville this week.

“I think any team can win on any given day,” she said. “It depends who shows up. Louisville was ranked in the top 10. They beat big-name teams. We showed up today ready to play.”

One key factor for the Hoosiers may be their ability to defend penalty corners for 70 minutes. Ohio State and Louisville have each earned more penalty corners than IU. Louisville has won 10 penalty corners to the Hoosiers’ five.

Freshman defender Hannah Boyer talked about the penalty corners’ importance.
“The last five minutes we really stepped our game up again,” she said. “While we needed to have that the whole half to limit those corners, we didn’t bring it till the end. That’s something to walk away with for the next game.”

Robertson stressed the importance of finishing scoring opportunities and finishing opponents.

“We had them on the ropes,” she said. “We were getting into our 25, and then we were turning the ball over without it being forced. If we get in our circle, we have to come away with something. We either need to get a corner, or we need to get a shot. We weren’t getting anything. We’ve got to have these. You can’t just keep playing
defense.”

However, Robertson said she saw ways that her team stepped up.

“I think we lost a little confidence in the middle of our season — even after big wins,” Robertson said. “Losing the first two Big Ten [games] took a little hit on our confidence. This is huge. We needed this lift. Louisville is a tremendous team. For us, we’re back running. Twice, we’ve seen what this team is made of when you go into a real high-pressure situation, such as overtime.”

As the Hoosiers hope to build off the momentum gained from Tuesday’s win against Louisville and string together wins, Boyer said team unity is vital.

“We all hold each other accountable,” she said. “We can talk to each other one-on-one. Being able to hold each other accountable, and hold ourselves accountable, we know that we can come together and do what needs to be done.”